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Grey Guard
Grey Guards are the main infantry of the Shadow Lord's army. They were initially created to replace the Greers. History After the Battle for Deltora, the Shadow Lord spent its time improving on its Greers. It improved their intelligence, strength, and stamina, until they eventually became what the people of Deltora referred to as Grey Guards. In the old days, Grey Guards were believed to be immortal, before they found out though Grey Guards never seem to age, after a certain period of time, they are called back to the Shadowlands to be replaced by an identical set of guards. Also, the guards that pass their expiry date will start to become defective and are thrown into the garbage mounds where all of the old Guards are placed. Some of them start to rot and may even be missing bodies, heads, or other limbs. The Deltora Book of Monsters Palace librarian Josef recorded Grey Guards in his book the Deltora Book of Monsters. The Forests of Silence After the Shadow Lord took over Deltora and the gems were hidden, the Grey Guards became the Shadow Lord's enforcers. They roamed the countryside and made sure that all residents of Deltora obeyed the Shadow Lord's rules. Lief and his friends often played tricks on the Grey Guards in the city of Del, like stealing apples. On Lief's sixteenth birthday he wandered through the city until after sunset. A curfew was one of the Shadow Lord's rules and anyone caught wandering the streets after sunset would be killed. Lief started to make his way home but two Grey Guards came around the corner that he was heading to. With little hope to escape Lief flattened himself to the wall, hoping for a miracle. At that moment Barda distracted the guards and helped Lief escape the city. Later that evening Lief talked to his parents and learned about his quest to retrieve the gems. Barda explained that there still were numerous Grey Guards in the city of Del but very few roamed the countryside. This was the case because the Shadow Lord had cast his eyes on the land across the sea. Barda learned this information while pretending to be a beggar on the streets of Del. While talking about the quest, Barda also pointed out that no Grey Guards went near the Forests of Silence because of the great losses they had suffered in that area. As Barda and Lief were waiting in the forest after being paralysed by the Wenn, Jasmine arrived to rob their belongings like she always does when Grey Guards are sacrificed to the Wennbar. She unintentionally mistook Lief and Barda for Grey Guards because only Grey Guards took the Wenn Del path, according to Jasmine. Eventually Jasmine helped Lief and Barda to escape the Wennbar. She took them to her nest and explained that approximately 8 years ago her parents were taken by Grey Guards. The Lake of Tears A troop of Grey Guards captured a Ralad man named Manus, who had just escaped from the monsters Jin and Jod. They decided to escort him back to his captors. As they neared their destination, they decided to rest underneath a tree to eat and torment their captive before sleeping. Unknown to the guards, Lief, Barda, and Jasmine were hiding in the tree and decided to rescue the Ralad. Unfortunately one of the guards woke up and saw Lief and Barda escaping with their prisoner. The rest woke up soon afterwards and pursued the companions. Despite Jasmine's attempts to block their way with debris from the trees, they pursued the companions until they hid among patches of sweetplumbs. Though the guards could have easily caught them, they left when they realized the companions had run towards Jin and Jod's cottage. Later, while traveling to Raladin, the companions and Manus came across a small village branded with the Shadow Lord's mark, showing that Grey Guards had sacked it. Eventually the companions arrived at Raladin and realised that the city had been raided as well because the Ralads were nowhere to be found. Traces of Grey Guards were also abundant in the city. Later the companions discovered that the Ralads had gone into hiding and had never been captured by the Grey Guards. City of the Rats A troop of Grey Guards appeared at Tom's shop while Lief, Barda and Jasmine were hiding in the carts of the Ra-Kacharz. During that situation the companions discovered that the Grey Guards transport a large amount of food from Noradz to the Palace of Del. The Shifting Sands Grey Guards were rarely seen in Rithmere while the Rithmere Games were in progress. Lief, Barda and Jasmine learned this while on their way to Rithmere. Later, after Jasmine had won the 11th Rithmere Games, the companions learned why the Grey Guards were rarely seen during the games. While trying to sneak out of the Champion Inn unobserved, Lief, Barda and Jasmine were captured by two Grey Guards. The guards were going to transport them to the Shadowlands. Most finalist would be captured by Grey Guards afterwards like the companions, to eventually fight in the Shadow Arena. The Rithmere Games were just a bait to lure strong fighters. The two Grey Guards - members of the Carn Squad - eventually had to stop and shelter the companions because it started raining. Both of them fell asleep soon after they had provided a shelter for the companions. Some time later Doom helped the companions escape and offered to take them to the Resistance stronghold. Although the Grey Guards would never be able to pursue the companions there, they could not accept because of the quest. Lief, Barda and Jasmine soon reached the Shifting Sands and entered te mysterious desert. The Grey Guards had picked up their scent again and were following them into the Shifting Sands. Fortunately, the companions learned this before the guards had reached them. They hid under Lief's cloak and watched how the Grey Guards started searching for them. Then a giant terreocti appeared and it devoured both Carn 2 and Carn 8 in front of the companions' eyes. Later after Lief had been separated from Barda and Jasmine, he fell asleep. Some Grey Guards appeared in Lief's dream. Dread Mountain Two other members of the Carn Pod - Carn 4 and Carn 5 - appeared at the Dreaming Spring and captured Prin while she was playing hide-and-find with Lief. The guards were searching for Glock, Neridah and Doom who had saved them from their captors. They commented that they were lucky to find this place because their bottles were almost empty. Both of them greedily drank the water of the Dreaming Spring. Lief made an attempt to rescue Prin but he startled the young Kin as he touched the bag she had been put in. Alarmed the guards rushed over to Lief and prepared to attack him. At that moment both of the guards transformed into trees because of the water of the Dreaming Spring. Later Crenn explained that Grey Guards used to be one of the dangers the Kin faced on Dread Mountain. This was many years ago. While sleeping at the Dreaming Spring, Lief also saw two Grey Guards in his dream about his father. On Dread Mountain Lief, Barda and Jasmine encountered a Vraal. This beast had been used by Grey Guards to track someone on Dread Mountain long ago. The Grey Guards were eventually killed and eaten by the Vraal. Inside Dread Mountain while fighting Gellick, the companions learned that Gellick's venom is used in the blisters of Grey Guards. Each full moon the Dread Gnomes left a supply of it by the roadside at the bottom of the mountain. Grey Guards most likely collected the venom and took it to the Shadowlands. The Maze of the Beast The pirates that attacked Lief, Barda, Jasmine and Dain on the River Queen, recognised Dain as a member of the Resistance. They captured him alive because Grey Guards would pay a lot of gold for him. The Valley of the Lost Doom deliberately claimed that Tora had been overrun with Grey Guards as an excuse to Dain who wanted to visit the city. When the companions and Dain eventually reached Tora, they discovered that there were no Grey Guards at all for the city was completely empty. Tora had been protected by magic to keep evil from entering the city. Doom and Neridah came to the Tora to search for Dain while the companions were at Tora. After going through the tunnel Doom sat down and explained about his past to Lief, Barda, Jasmine, Dain and Neridah. He told that he had escaped from the Shadowlands and that Grey Guards pursued him on Dread Mountain. Eventually Doom was able to kill all his pursuers. Return to Del Pods Grey Guards are grown in pods of ten in the Shadow Factory. Each member of the pod is given a number, which is used in place of a name. * Teep Pod is the pod that appeared in the book Return to Del. Teep 4 talked to Tom about them being stuck where they were. * Carn Pod or Carn Squad (in the anime). * Other pods are Bak, Pern, and Krop; learned while Lief was in the Factory. Physical appearance Grey Guards dress in simple gray uniforms marked with the Shadow Lord's brand In the anime, Grey Guards are given metal helmet with removable face guards. Behaviour While blindly loyal to the Shadow Lord's will, Grey Guards do have minds of their own. They have a sense of community towards their fellow soldiers, and at times have also gone against the direct orders of their superiors. However, even this has its limits. Grey Guards generally only care about their fellow pod members, and are fiercely competitive for the Shadow Lord's favour. Abilities Grey Guards are skilled hunters and deadly warriors. They are able to cover great distances without becoming tired and frequently hunt by scent. In combat Grey Guards posses enormous physical strength. Weapons The primary weapon of the Grey Guards was a small egg-shaped projectile called Blister. Blisters were filled with venom from the Ooze Toad Gellick, and would explode on impact to bring a quick, painful death. They were fired from slingshots. Other weapons Grey Guards carried were clubs and daggers. After the Shadow Lord was banished from Deltora, it invented a new weapon called the Sparking Rod for its Grey Guards. Anime In the anime, Grey Guards carry longswords and halberds (a spear combined with a battleaxe). Diet Grey Guards do have the need to eat and drink. On several occasions guards are seen eating and drinking. Cloning Technology In the early days of the Shadow Lord's reign and even towards the end of it, Grey Guards were thought to be human, though in series 2 book 3 The Shadowlands, it was found that they are manufactured in the Factory as bubbling grey-white pools of liquids in huge metal containers spilt into ten parts as each pod has ten guards. Lief, Jasmine and Barda originally thought that the bubbling pools were disintegrating bodies, then realised they were actually forming bodies. The Shadow Lord's servants tell each pod that they are the only pod without an expiration date and that they should keep this quiet. This is a lie told to the pods so that they obey and do not run away. All of the pods have expiration dates. In the anime, when Grey Guards are killed their bodies burst open with air whereas in the book it is now actually known. Trivia References Category:Characters Category:Antagonists Category:Servants of the Shadow Lord Category:Fauna Category:Monsters Category:Articles in need of citations